Top Stories April 6th

Dodge County: Good Hospitals, Too Much Fast Food

4/6/12 - Dodge County ranks in the bottom half of the state’s healthy counties but it’s not all bad news. The annual rankings put out by U-W Madison and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation say that Dodge County is 64th of 72 counties for “Healthy Behaviors” with above average numbers for obesity, excessive drinking and vehicle fatalities. In terms of “Physical Environment,” Dodge County is 37th with lower than average access to recreational facilities and higher than average numbers of fast food restaurants.

Dodge County does rank in the top half for “Social and Economic” factors like child poverty at 27 out of 72 counties. While college experience numbers are sub-par, high school graduation rates are well above average at 93%. There are 24% of children in single-parent households, above the national average but below the state average. As far as “Clinical Care Access,” the ranking is 34th with an above average number of insured patients and quality access to diabetic and mammography screenings. The ratio of primary care physicians to patients is higher than average as is the number of people reporting that they are in fair or poor health.

Karen Timberlake of the U-W Population Health Institute says the annual findings are meant to help local officials get examples of what others are doing to promote health-and-active lives. Ozaukee County, just north of Milwaukee, was the healthiest for the last two years – but this time, it dropped to second behind Saint Croix, on the eastern edge of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. Taylor, Iowa, and Vernon counties round out the Top-Five. Menominee County – home of the Menominee Indian Reservation – is again the least healthy. Marquette County is second-worst, followed by Milwaukee. The Rankings are available online at www.countyhealthrankings.org.

DCSO, DNR Looking For Grassland Arsonist

4/6/12 - Authorities are looking for information on what they are calling intentional grassland fires in local state wildlife areas. Firefighters were called to extinguish a large grass fire in the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area in the Town of Burnett, just off of Seering Road, just before noon on March 21. A second grassland fire was reported on the same day around 3pm in the Mud Lake State Wildlife Area off of County Highway Q near Mile Road in the Town of Shields. A third fire occurred five days later in Mud Lake off Garden Road in the Township of Shields. Anyone with information should contact the Dodge County Sheriff's Detective Dan Stiemsma at (920)386-4046 or Wisconsin DNR Conservation Warden Paul Nell at (920) 387-7880. Callers can remain anonymous.

Kaiser Bond Reduction Denied

4/6/12 - Dodge County Judge John Storck has denied a motion for bond reduction for the suspect in last July’s armed robbery of the Shell Travel Mart in Beaver Dam. Josiah Kaiser is charged with Armed Robbery with the Threat of Force. His attorney cited new factors in requesting that his $20,000 cash bond be lowered. District Attorney Kurt Klomberg noted that Kaiser had to be extradited from Colorado and the state had initially requested a higher bail. The 33-year-old is accused of threatening employees with a handgun during the robbery and a firearm was among the items taken as evidence and sent to the State Crime Lab for investigation. Kaiser is still being held at the Dodge County Jail; he has court activity on the calendar next week.

Klingbeil Waives Prelim To OWI Injury Charges

4/6/12 - A Clyman man has waived his right to a preliminary hearing in connection with drunken driving accident that resulted in injuries. Ronald Klingbeil is charged with felony Operating While Intoxicated, Causing Injury – Second Offense and misdemeanor Operating After Revocation. Authorities say the 61-year-old has not had a driver’s license for over 30 years and has three previous OWI’s. Klingbeil was traveling southbound on Highway 67 in February in the Town of Hubbard when veered onto the shoulder of the road, lost control of his vehicle, spun counter-clockwise into the opposite lane of traffic and collided with a northbound vehicle. Both vehicles wound up in the ditch. The driver of the other vehicle sustained back injuries and was treated and released from a local hospital. Klingbeil had neck injuries and was taken into custody after his brief hospital stay. His blood alcohol level was allegedly over the legal limit for driving at point-two-zero-eight (.208). If convicted, the charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and another two-and-a-half year’s without a driver’s license.

Bankruptcy Judge Sides With Diocese On Records

4/6/12 - Federal Bankruptcy Judge Susan Kelley said no Thursday to unsealing some of the documents filed by the Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese in its bankruptcy case. The records included a deposition given by former Archbishop Rembert Weakland on how he transferred pedophile priests from parish-to-parish without telling local church members about the sex abuse. Attorneys for 570 abuse victims said the documents would help justify their requests for financial compensation as part of the bankruptcy case. And the attorneys said the public’s right-to-know outweighed the church’s interest to keep the incidents private. But Judge Kelley said the records could identify victims, even if their names are blacked out. And Kelley called the material “scandalous.”

Fox Lake Drafts Municipal Judge Ordinance

4/6/12 - Much like the city of Beaver Dam last month, Fox Lake is looking to change the term length for their municipal judge position to comply with state statue. In the past, the judge position was a two-year spot. But City Clerk Sue Hollnagel says it’s now four-years. That’s the result of a little known law change that was approved in 2009 but didn’t go into effect until January 2011. Municipal Judge Richard Quirk was re-elected on Tuesday to another term, and while Fox Lake has not made a change in its ordinance yet, he will be on the bench for four-years. The city council will vote on the ordinance at their next meeting.

Walker Signs Pro-Business Bills

4/6/12 - Governor Scott Walker signed two pro-business bills into law Thursday in Milwaukee. One bill lets the Wisconsin Housing-and-Economic Development Authority provide financing for business projects. Those types of loans have been banned since the 1980’s – and the new law allows WHEDA to issue federally tax-exempt bonds for business expansions. The Republican Walker calls it a “common-sense change” when funding is a challenge. The agency recently started a seven-million-dollar Equity Investment Fund with a federal grant aimed toward small business investments in low-income communities. Also Thursday, the governor ended penalties for “angel investors” who get state tax credits for providing money to get new businesses off the ground. Those investors would no longer have to pay back the tax credits if they got out of the investments within three years of making them. Also, there would no longer be penalties if a start-up business fails within three years – or is acquired by somebody else. Walker says the measure strengthens what he calls one of the nation’s “leading angel and early stage investment tax credit programs.”

7800 Wisconsinites To Lose Unemployment

4/6/12 - Almost 78-hundred Wisconsinites will lose their unemployment benefits on Saturday. That’s because the state’s unemployment rate has dropped below a national threshold in which residents no longer qualify for 86 weeks of jobless benefits. The state’s average unemployment rate for the last three months was seven-percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis – and that means Wisconsin’s long-term unemployed are no longer eligible for 13 weeks of extended benefits. As a result, the maximum benefit will run for 73 weeks. And if unemployment stays below seven-percent in the next three months, the National Employment Law Project says the maximum benefit will be cut to 60 weeks on June first. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the federal government notified state officials three weeks ago of the lower benefit period. But the state’s Workforce Development agency never announced it publicly until today – a day after the Journal Sentinel questioned officials about it. The agency said everyone affected by the change has been notified.

Traffic Fatalities Below Average

4/6/12 - Last month’s traffic deaths in Wisconsin were the second-lowest for a March in almost 70 years. Preliminary D-O-T figures showed that 27 people died in Wisconsin crashes in March. That’s two fewer deaths than in March of last year, and six fewer than the average for the past five years. Traffic normally goes down when gas prices get close to four-dollars-a-gallon, like they did last month. But March also had record warm temperatures, and that encouraged more folks to go outside. And that’s showing up in the fatality totals. Three motorcycle riders have been killed in Wisconsin so far this year, along with one motorcycle passenger and five pedestrians. The state had 107 traffic deaths in the first three months of 2012. That’s six more than the previous year, and two more than the five-year average.

New License Plate Offered

4/6/12 - The state D-O-T announced a special new license plate Thursday to honor Wisconsin’s female veterans. The red, white, and blue plates carry the name “Woman Veteran.” Motorists will also get decals for the plates which signify the military branches in which the women served. The motor vehicle division offers 56 options for military plates for service members and veterans, and students-and-graduates of military academies. The new “Woman Veteran” plates will cost an extra 15-dollars the first year only – and personalized plates cost an extra 15-dollars. The initial surcharge goes to the Veterans Trust Fund.

Petri Town Meeting Thursday In Mayville, Watertown

4/6/12 - Congressman Tom Petri is conducting a series town meetings in a dozen communities in his Sixth Congressional District. The Republican from Fond du Lac says the meetings are way for him to connect with his constituents. Petri will be at the Watertown Senior and Community Center for an hour next Thursday at 9:30am. That afternoon he will be at Mayville City Hall from 3pm to 4pm.